twd000
Well-Known Member
Here is the report sent to me by the Tucson City Water folks (the guy sounded like he was familiar with homebrewers calling up with the same questions all the time!)
POINT DATE PARAMETER VALUE UNITS QUALIFIER
Water Quality Results
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM CHLORINE RESIDUAL, FREE Chlorine, Free .84 mg/L
Inorganic
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM ALKALINITY, BICARBONATE Bicarbonate Alkalinity 102 mg/L
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM CALCIUM Calcium, Total 76 mg/L
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM HARDNESS, TOTAL Hardness, Total 229 mg/L
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM MAGNESIUM Magnesium, Total 9.2 mg/L
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM SODIUM Sodium, Total 63 mg/L
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM CHLORIDE Chloride 72 mg/L
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM SULFATE Sulfate 151 mg/L
I have hard water, which is what I expected. I was thinking of buying a water softener to improve wash performance and prolong the life of my appliances. How does this look for brewing purposes? I have noticed that I have trouble getting the hop bitterness I expect from a given recipe, which is not what I expected for hard water.
POINT DATE PARAMETER VALUE UNITS QUALIFIER
Water Quality Results
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM CHLORINE RESIDUAL, FREE Chlorine, Free .84 mg/L
Inorganic
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM ALKALINITY, BICARBONATE Bicarbonate Alkalinity 102 mg/L
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM CALCIUM Calcium, Total 76 mg/L
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM HARDNESS, TOTAL Hardness, Total 229 mg/L
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM MAGNESIUM Magnesium, Total 9.2 mg/L
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM SODIUM Sodium, Total 63 mg/L
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM CHLORIDE Chloride 72 mg/L
SP-565 12/27/2011 9:50:00AM SULFATE Sulfate 151 mg/L
I have hard water, which is what I expected. I was thinking of buying a water softener to improve wash performance and prolong the life of my appliances. How does this look for brewing purposes? I have noticed that I have trouble getting the hop bitterness I expect from a given recipe, which is not what I expected for hard water.